"When a tweet generates a reply (aka @) or a retweet (aka RT), it suggests the tweet has resonated enough with someone that it sparks a conversation or encourages someone to share it with their followers," the company writes.

Of course this doesn't consider that lots of people read or view content -- on Twitter and in other forms of media -- and don't necessarily feel compelled to respond.

According to the Sysomos study, just 6% of Tweets measured got retweeted and 23% were apparently intriguing enough to warrant a reply. More than 90% of retweets take place within an hour, so the shelf life of a Tweet appears to be pretty short.

As for replies, 85% involve just a single reply, throwing some cold water on the notion that Twitter is bursting with "conversations."

In addition, company founder Evan Williams handed over the CEO reins to Dick Costolo, who is charged with turning Twitter into a money-making machine now that it’s established itself as a social networking leader. Costolo used to head FeedBurner, a news feed service that Google bought, and joined Twitter about a year ago to work on advertising services and licensing deals.

Bob Brown is a news editor for Network World, blogs about network research, and works most closely with our staff's wireless/mobile reporters. Follow him on Twitter at Alphadoggs and connect via email at bbrown@nww.com